Susanna Reid is soooooo rude

[StrangeCondition]

Yes I know she's interviewing Boris but for fuck's sake, let him get a word in edgeways, even worse when Adil Ray is on as well.

She's so rude

I wonder if Elsie had just been underpaying? 17quid a month does seem extraordinarily cheap, perhaps she'd misread her meter and her massive increase is due to repayment.

I think it is really inappropriate of GMB to name this pensioner and didn't they actually show a photo of Elsie? She'll have people following her to see if she does infact spend all day on the bus.

Why didn't BJ say she'll eligible for winter fuel allowance, that'd pay nearly 3 months worth wouldn't it?

Feeble @JaniieJones. Run out of excuses?

Unsure33 She was not rude at all. She was on a limited time for the interview and she seemed determined that his usual wiffle waffle was not going to detract from the questions she wanted answered.

What is feeble about it? Do you know anyone who was only paying £17 a month?! Winter fuel allowances are 200/300 quid depending on age. Thats 3 month's worth at £85 and if she's only previously been paying £17 there must be some spare you'd have thought.

Oh come on, you can't be that dim. Has it really not occurred to you that she's only paying £17 a month because the winter fuel allowance covers the rest? I think you're being disingenous in an attempt to discredit Elsie because just like De Spaffle you have no answer to the question Susanna asked.

To be fair a lot of threads on mumsnet had people saying their energy bills had gone up massively, but it appears they hadn't been submitting the meter readings. Years ago the companies came round and read them, now it's all smart meters or read them yourself and it's not always easy to do if the meters are in an awkward place or you can't send the readings off online or just not sure what to do. These energy companies seem to think everyone has smart phones or the internet etc etc. Not everyone is clued up about these things , maybe Elsie thought that £ 17 was enough money each month because it was fine before ? Have they drilled down into what happened?
She is also on a fixed income , so any increase will be hard and if she's in arrears too it'll be even more difficult for her to catch up:(

Most interviewers don't have the ability to listen.
They're chomping towards their second question before the first has been given a minute to answer.
Pier's had a similarly annoying approach.

One of the better interviewers of politicians in general is Sophy Ridge-worth on sky news as she actually listens to the answers.

'Oh come on, you can't be that dim. Has it really not occurred to you that she's only paying £17 a month because the winter fuel allowance covers the rest? '

I'm not dim at all thanks. There was no mention that it was deducted from winter fuel allowance! Rather it had 'gone up from £17 to £85'. A month.

I bet Elsie was in arrears for a while , but by the time her energy company wrote to her with the new figures for the increase it had gone up again and that's how she went from 17 to 85
a month. Mine went up 60 odd a month and I am vigilant about readings and am a bit in credit too. You only need to leave these things a while and it all catches up with you and they don't make it easy for anyone not internet savvy. Plus older people do feel the cold more, so she may have used more over the winter as well. I tend to turn it down, but if you were not aware it was going up by so much it might have taken her unawares.
Whatever happened, it is a big increase for her monthly and its ages until the next winter fuel allowance is paid out as well.

I have now heard the interview and do not think Susanna Reid was rude. I think in fact the interview if anything was tame.

I agree about Sophy Ridge on Sky and the quality of her interviews.

Sorry , Ridge ! She was away for a while and they had another man who was good too , but I can't remember his name.

It wasn't an interview he wasn't allowed to answer. If I was him I would blackist suzanna and not be interviewed by her again. I'm not Boris' biggest fan but At the end of the day he is the elected prime minister and airtime comes with that office.

Yes, air time does come with that office. And that’s the first interview he’s done for months. He was PM before the 2019 election - when he refused to take part in the leaders’ debate and when he hid in a fridge to escape the press.

Yes head line figure BUT oil companies often get back more in tax relief on decommissioning rigs etc then they pay in tax...

Windfall taxes have been used by previous Tory Governments, so why not now?

These are profits they never expected to make and yes, they can introduce a WFT very quickly.

Bottom line is that millions cannot afford energy or food and that needs to be addressed and by a lot more than 150 of CT (which for most people has gone up this year more than that amount)

Boris Johnson has already ruled out a windfall tax because they already pay loads of tax he said today and he needs them on board.
I've no idea how it all works to be honest , but it's clear they won't be going after anyone's profits.

I don't know why posters are focussing on Elsie. It's what Elsie stands for.... people are struggling and Elsie was an illsutration of what some people are going through.

I only mentioned Elsie because people were wondering how she could have got into this situation and I just had a few theories about what might have happened. Going by mumsnet threads it's easy done and a few people have had shocks and had to move providers as well ( which made matters worse )
From 17 to 85 a month is a huge increase and it all has to be found.

What @Roussette said. Compared to other governments in Europe the Tories have been woeful on protecting people from the cost of living. They deserve to be challenged on this - and so Boris should not be allowed to waffle on about how brilliant the Tories have been, he should be made to answer the questions about the things that are affecting real people right now.

Anyone who thinks otherwise is just another apologist.

Mine went from 75 to 142 per month. I do monthly meter readings. I am not in arrears.
i am on benefits.

Oh come on, you can't be that dim. Has it really not occurred to you that she's only paying £17 a month because the winter fuel allowance covers the rest? I think you're being disingenous in an attempt to discredit Elsie because just like De Spaffle you have no answer to the question Susanna asked.

The winter fuel allowance is totally separate from your monthly fuel bill costs, it comes in a single payment for £200. Either a cheque or paid into your bank. It can be spent on anything; it doesn’t specifically tie in to your direct debit payment to the energy company so there is absolutely no reason for it to occur to anyone that that was the reason she was paying only £17 per month. FWIW, my monthly electricity costs for a 3 bed flat was £16 thirty years ago - a flat with gas central heating!

Bad isn’t it? And people on a fixed low income are really shafted 😞

I do regular readings as well. I was on a really good deal that finished on 8th April so I avoided the new charges for a week. My DD has more than doubled, I think some is the energy company over estimating so I will give it a couple of months and then I will challenge them on it obviously allowing for the fact that we need to build up a bit of credit for the summer months.

If Elsie was on a deal and it ended plus the energy company bumping the DD up a bit too much I can well understand how it has happened.

it's clear they won't be going after anyone's profits

Good. This never ends well

he hid in a fridge to escape the press

The press can be rather aggressive at times.